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THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 

By Sheldon E. Davis, Ph.D., 

\\ 

President State Normal College, Dillon 


J. Ford McBain, A.M. 

Professor of Science, State Normal College, Dillon 


Map Studies. — i. From the political map of the 
United States in your textbook determine what pro¬ 
portion of the boundary between our country and 
Canada is also the northern boundary of Montana. 

2. Using the scale of miles, determine the dis¬ 
tance across Montana from east to west. Using a 
railroad time table, compare this distance with the 
shortest railroad mileage across the state from east 
to west. 

3. By means of east-west and north-south meas¬ 
urements estimate the area of the state. Compare 
the result with the area given in the Appendix. 
Which states are larger than Montana? 

4. Compare the area and population of Mon¬ 
tana with those of France. What is the population 
per square mile in each case? How many times as 
large as Illinois is Montana? How many times as 
great is the population of Illinois? 

5. Compare the distance across Montana from 
east to west with that from New York to Chicago. 
Using a time table, compare the time required to 
travel from the most western station in Montana to 
the Dakota boundary with that required to go by 
rail from the last eastern Montana station to Chi¬ 
cago. 

6. Name all the states which border upon Mon¬ 
tana; the Canadian provinces. What parallel marks 
the northern boundary of Montana? What natural 
boundary marks most of the line between Montana 
and Idaho? 

7. From the map on the following page estimate 
the approximate elevation of the place where you 
live. The average elevation of all the earth’s land 
surface is 2200 feet. What proportion of Montana’s 
surface do you estimate to be higher? What parts 
of the state have an elevation of less than 2000 feet? 


8. The Missouri River is formed by the junc* 
tion of three rivers near Three Forks. What is the 
source of each of these rivers? Account for the 
name of each. Find three branches of the Missouri 
in Montana; notice that the largest of these 
crosses the boundary into Dakota before uniting 
with the Missouri. Account for the fact that the 
Missouri is a clear stream in its upper course and 
very muddy in its lower course. 

9. Where would you go in Montana if you 
wished to find a hill which drained from one side 
into the Atlantic and from the other into the Pacific? 
What two rivers in Montana flow toward the west 
and drain at last into the Pacific Ocean? Montana 
is the only state whose surface drains into three 
oceans; what part of Montana drains into the 
Arctic Ocean? 

10. On the black-and-white map (page 5) lo¬ 
cate the continental divide. In general would a 
train be going uphill or downhill in going from 
Butte to Missoula? Locate the following mountain 
ranges — Beartooth, Bitter Root, Mission, Belt, 
Little Rockies, Crazy. 

11. Locate by county all Montana cities which 
have a population of more than 10,000 people. Lo¬ 
cate the county in which you now are and name the 
counties which border upon it. Write the names of 
the five counties which seem to you largest. Refer¬ 
ring to the table in the Appendix, how many of the 
five largest did you name? 

12. On Fig. 1, locate as accurately as you can 
the scene represented by each picture in this sup¬ 
plement. See if the map explains the smoothness 
or roughness of the land in each case. Also, iden¬ 
tify on the map the streams and mountains wher¬ 
ever these are shown. 


Copyright, 1923, by The Macmillan Company 









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Longitude 111° _ W^est _110° /rom 109° Greenwich 





















































































































































THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


3 



Here you see a typical eastern-Montana landscape — gently rolling farm land with hills in the distance. 


Why “Montana” — the mountain state? 

— A glance at the map of the Western States 

Two natural ( main text > Fi g* T 7S) shows 
surface divi- clearly the two natural physical 

regions into which Montana is 
divided. With surface resembling that of 
the Dakotas, the Great Plains region extends 
far into the state. The elevation of these 
plains at the eastern boundary is in most 
places more than 2000 feet, though the Mis¬ 
souri and Yellowstone valleys include small 
areas lower than this. 

The map might at first sight appear to in¬ 
dicate that the eastern section of Montana is 

I. Eastern alevel P la in, but traveling across 
Montana not a the state from east to west 

level plain , . 

proves this not to be true. 
Nearly everywhere the vast stretches of level 
land are surmounted by hills, buttes, and 
rim rocks. In most places something which 
travelers from the plains states are likely to 
call “mountains” may be seen, and these be¬ 
come more rugged and more frequent as one 
approaches the mountains themselves, which 
at first seem to stand out upon the plains. 


Eastern Montana, north of the Missouri 
River, is comparatively level. 

It is part of the region once LtSlouth 
covered by the great ice sheet °L the Missouri 

/ 0 differs 

(mam text, Fig. 8). South of 

the Missouri the valleys are more deeply 

cut and there are more rocky hills. 

The Bad Lands common to southwest South 
Dakota, northeast Wyoming, and southeast 
Montana have been eroded by action of water 
and wind until the rocks show many strange 
forms, some resembling temples, towers, and 
castles. Vegetation in the Bad Lands is usu¬ 
ally scant. Many fossil remains of prehistoric 
animals have been found in this region. 

Like eastern Washington and Idaho, the 
western third of Montana is mountainous. 
The main range of the Rocky 
Mountains, which forms the Con- mvidTand* 1 ** 1 
tinental Divide, is paralleled bv nei s hborin s 

1 J ranges 

other ranges, most of these being 
east of the divide itself. Ranges are close 
together and valleys narrow, though a few 
ranges on the east of the divide are many 
miles out upon the high plains. 






4 


THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 



Fig. 3. — In the Bad Lands 


The highest range, the Beartooth, includes 
Granite Peak (altitude 12,850 feet), the high- 
4. Highest and est point in the state. Most of 
lowest points fo G mountainous section of the 
state has an elevation in excess of 5000 feet, 
though many valleys are much lower. Ac¬ 
cording to the United States Geological Sur¬ 
vey the lowest point in Montana is in the 
Kootenai Valley, 1800 feet. 

The Continental Divide separates drainage 
systems of Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic slopes. 


The Missouri from its forma¬ 
tion at Three Forks by the 
union of the Jeff er- How Montana 
son, Madison, and is drained 
Gallatin rivers, breaks through 
the mountains north of 
Helena and enters the plains, 
flowing northeast. At Great 
Falls the river descends in 
several falls and rapids more 
than 500 feet. The rest of 
its course is mainly in an 
easterly direction. 

West of the Divide is the 
Kootenai, which rises in Canada and flows 
across the northwestern corner of the state, 
draining only a small section of Montana. 
Clark Fork, rising not far from Butte, flows 
northwest. As Clark Fork of the Columbia, 
it crosses the line into Idaho. It receives 
the Bitter Root and other large tributaries. 
Small streams rising in the northern part of 
Glacier Park drain into the Saskatchewan. 

If Montana’s surface be considered as a 
whole, mountains are seen to be the most 



Courtesy of J. W. Johnson 

Fig. 4.—A sweet cherry orchard in the Bitter Root Valley 
Contrast this scene, typical of western Montana, with Fig. 2. 









THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


5 



Fig. 5.—Drainage and transportation map of Montana, showing also Indian Reservations and National 

Forests 


characteristic feature. In the western half 
of the state one is hardly ever far from them; 
in many places their rugged tops outline the 
horizon on all sides. Truly Montana is 
rightly named — the mountain state. 

Facts to be especially well fixed. — 1. Area of 
the state. 2. Approximate distance across Mon¬ 
tana from east to west. 3. Two surface divisions. 

4. Location of highest and lowest elevations. 

5. The two principal drainage systems. 


Problems for independent study 

Mean elevation 


State 

Feet 

Montana 

3400 

Idaho 

5000 

Wyoming 

6700 

Oregon 

33 °° 

North Dakota 

1900 

South Dakota 

2200 

Washington 

1700 

Colorado 

6800 

Utah 

6100 

United States 



(exclusive of Alaska) 2500 


1. What does “mean elevation” mean to you 
after reading the preceding paragraphs? 2. How 
much above Montana’s mean elevation is Granite 
Peak? 3. How much lower than the mean eleva¬ 
tion is the lowest point in the Kootenai Valley? 
4. Compare the mean elevation of Montana with 
that of adjoining states. With that of the United 
States. 

5. The Kootenai and Flathead excepted, no 
river in Montana flows south. Account for this fact. 


How the climate and other natural re¬ 
sources of Montana have favored settle¬ 
ment. — Most of Montana is in Relation be _ 
that part of North America tween Mon- 


which has “mild summers and 


tana’s climate 
and agricul- 

extreme winters” (main text, turaipossi- 
Fig. 12). This does not mean blllties 
that summers are never hot; in meant by “mild 
at least half of the state, many extr^e^in- 
days are as hot as in the North ters ” 

Central States, though the nights are usually 














































6 


THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


cool. “Extreme winters” also is not a term 
which, as used here, indicates long-continued 
severe cold. 

For several reasons it is difficult for those 
who are not familiar with mountain regions 

2 . How climate to understand Montana climate, 

varies locally ma y b e excessively cold up in 

the mountains and merely cool, or moderately 
cold, in the valley. Vigorous winds may 
blow almost constantly in one valley while 
there are few windy days in another. Wind¬ 
swept plains are colder than protected val¬ 
leys and seem even colder than they are. 

The prevailing dryness of the atmosphere 
greatly decreases the discomfort of cold or 
hot weather when compared 

3 . How dry- w ith the same or less extreme 

ness modifies 

the effects of degrees of temperature m more 
pe?ature tem " humid climates. Thus those who 
live in Illinois, Iowa, or Kansas 
read of the extremely low temperature occa¬ 
sionally recorded in Montana and wonder 
how friends or relatives can “stand such 
cold.” Montana visitors who go East are 
likewise surprised to feel that they are 
“freezing with a damp cold” even when 
the thermometer is not registering a low 
temperature. 

Another peculiarity of the Montana climate 
is the thin air common to regions of high 
altitude. This results in bril- 
tude affects liant sunlight with great warmth 
while the air may be uncom¬ 
fortably cool in the shadows. The air cools 
rapidly after sundown, resulting in cool 
nights, especially in the higher sections of the 
state. 

The operation of many well-known cli¬ 
matic laws is easily discovered in Montana. 
Temperature always decreases as altitude 
increases, except where cold air sinks to the 
bottom of small, pocket-like valleys, which 


may on that account be colder at times than 
the hills surrounding them. 

Montana lies in the region of prevailing 
westerlies (main text, Fig. 242). This ac¬ 
counts for the warm winds, 5 . Chinooks 
known as Chinooks, which so effects 

frequently melt the snows and raise the win¬ 
ter temperatures (main text, pages 147, 184). 
Winds from the west are descending as they 
pass over the state; how does this affect the 
temperature (page 235)? 

In seeking an explanation of the warm 
Chinook winds, the cause of rainfall is also 
discovered, and it may be seen 6 Why Mon _ 
why Montana is mainly a region tana has defi- 

. -- f . cient moisture 

of deficient rainfall (mam text, 

Figs. 13, 18). The winds, passing over sev¬ 
eral mountain ranges to the west, are cooled 
and lose a large portion of their moisture, 
giving parts of Washington and Oregon 
heavy precipitation. (See main text, page 
132.) Not only have the winds parted with 
most of their water vapor, but since they are 
descending, their temperature increases and 
their water-carrying power is greater. Dur¬ 
ing much of the time they are drying winds 
instead of rain-bringing winds (main text, 
pages 232-235). 

Rainfall may be influenced locally by 
mountains. Eastern slopes usually have less 
rain or snow than western slopes. _ 

L ' 7 . How moun- 

As an illustration, precipitation tains affect 

_ . rainfall locally 

at Bozeman averages nearly 
twenty inches and at Livingston, not more 
than twenty-five miles distant, it is about 
fifteen inches. Many ranges are snow-cov¬ 
ered during more than half of the year while 
others may never have snow to cover their 
barren surface. One slope of a range may be 
covered with trees while the other is bare. 

“Talking about the weather” is sometimes 
regarded as idle talk, but there are practical 





THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


7 



reasons for understanding climate and its 
local variations in Montana. Many settlers 
have tried to establish home- 

necessaryto* steads upon slopes too dry for 
ma?e 0urch " farming. Two regions of equal 
annual rainfall might at first 
thought seem to be equally valuable for 

agriculture, but the 
distribution by 
months may be as 

important as the 
total amount. A few 
inches of rain in 

May, June, and July 
may insure a crop; 
the same amount in 
August, September, 
or October may 
prove of little value*, 
or even injurious to 
some crops. Another 
practical application 
of climate relates to 
the number of days 
between killing frosts. 

Length of frost-free 
period is far more 
important agricultur¬ 
ally than the average 
annual temperature. 

There are great 
general differences be¬ 
tween the climate of the plains 
and fountain S P ar t of the state and that in the 
fn C cii^ate lffer mountainous region. In general, 
there are more wind and greater 
extremes of heat and cold in the eastern part 
of Montana and a longer growing season. In 
the west, as has been noted, there is much 
greater local variation, due to mountain 
ranges, and there is often a very short frost- 
free period. Even in some of the most im¬ 


The other 
natural re¬ 
sources of 
Montana 

i. How natu¬ 
ral materials 
and conditions 
become re¬ 
sources 


portant agricultural valleys, heavy snowfall 
in June is not unheard of, while occasionally 
there is snow in July. Frosts may occur in 
some of the irrigated valleys in all months 
except July; in a few hay-producing valleys 
heavy frosts occur in every month. 

What are Montana’s natural resources? 

“Natural resources” 
is an ex¬ 
pression 
with a 
change¬ 
able sig¬ 
nificance. 

It means 

game to the hunter, 
fish to the fisherman, 
and mineral wealth 
to the miner. To the 
farmer it may mean 
fertile soil, well-dis¬ 
tributed rainfall, or 
water for irrigation. 

Fur-bearing ani¬ 
mals, formerly trapped 
by the 

J # 2 . What re¬ 

in d i a n s sources the fur- 
, . , traders used 

and later 

by white traders, were 
long the chief product 
of the territory and 
still remain impor¬ 
tant. These traders followed the rivers as 
the Indians had done and as the railroads 
in many cases do now. St. Louis was their 
final market (main text, page 79). We no 
longer think of game as the most important 
source of wealth; but the beaver, mink, 
muskrat, and other fur-bearing animals 
still make a living for many people in the 
state. Deer, ducks, trout, and other kinds 
of game which are so abundant are protected 


Courtesy J. S. Puts 

Fig. 6. — A forest near Libby 
Can you name these trees? 








8 


THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


by game laws so that hunters and fishermen 
of the future may share with us the pursuit 
of game. Such natural resources are worth 
preserving, even though we may not think of 
them as being worth money. 

To Indians and fur traders, forests were 
not important as natural wealth. A pole 
now and then, material for boats 
andmine f s 0 were and rafts, and fuel they needed; 
not at first 1 m- otherwise the forest had its prin- 

portant 

cipal meaning as the home of 
game or an obstacle to travel. The mineral 



were the largest settlements. When gold was 
so far exhausted that a day of hard work no 
longer “panned out,” the crowd moved on, 
leaving the field to be worked over by more 
thorough processes many years later. 

Most of the gold and silver now produced 
is found in combination with other metals 
and must be separated by very complex and 
expensive processes. These can be con¬ 
ducted profitably only on a large scale. When 
copper mining developed, the forests took on 
new value, since mining timbers would have 
been almost prohibitively ex¬ 
pensive had not the supply 
been near at hand. 

Gold, silver, copper, lead, 

- and coal were all being pro¬ 

duced in large quantities be¬ 
fore 1900. Zinc, precious 
stones, manganese, petroleum, 
natural gas, are other mineral 
resources which have helped 
Montana to produce wealth 
since 1905. 

The peculiar form of nat¬ 
ural wealth upon which the 
grazing industry 


first developed 5 ’ 




.... -N 

Fig. 7. — Feeding wild hay in a valley too high for agriculture 


wealth, too, upon which we now so much 
depend, had not been discovered. 

The first mineral discoveries were those of 
gold and silver. Some of the richest fields 
were at Bannack and Virginia 

4 . How rain- 

erai wealth was City and at Helena. Wherever 
developed g 0 ^ was found, thousands flocked 

in its quest. The places just named became 
in turn the territorial capital because they 


What re¬ 
sources are of 

was found on the 7 alue for graz " 

rag 

vast plains, where 
the native grass cures into 
hay without being cut. Both 
cattle and sheep may winter 
with little or no other sustenance and usually 
with little shelter except what nature affords. 
Some varieties of native bunch grass are al¬ 
most like grain in their nutritive value. 
Large numbers of cattle are fattened for beef 
upon wild hay alone. 

The soils in many parts of the State re¬ 
quire only a sufficient supply of water to 
produce bountiful crops; such irrigation 









THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


9 


projects as those in the Yellowstone Valley 
near Billings or the Milk River Project 
insure good crops almost every 
soureeswid re year. The Gallatin and Judith 
their peculiar!- B as i n an d 0 th er valleys produce 

remarkable yields of grain. 
Scientific methods and more general practice 
of summer fallowing will utilize increased 
acreage in dry farming. By conserving 
moisture natural resources of an unleached 
virgin soil can be used which are lost when 
unskilled methods are em¬ 
ployed. Farming practices, 
however, must differ widely 
from those in regions of 
abundant rainfall. Much loss 
and hardship have resulted 
because settlers have not un¬ 
derstood how to farm where 
the great problem is conser¬ 
vation of moisture, and be¬ 
cause the attempt has been 
made to farm land which 
might more profitably be left 
for grazing. 

In considering the natural 
resources for farming, it may 
be noted that in many in¬ 
stances the brief frost-free 
period, ranging from 71 to 140 days, is fully 
compensated for by the long days of summer 
sunlight. It is the number of heat units 
which counts in making and maturing crops 
rather than the number of days. 

To the great natural resources which have 
been named must be added the abundant 
water power of Montana. The 

7. How water 

power is made a streams in the western part of 
the state rise in very high alti¬ 
tudes. They descend through mountain val¬ 
leys and gorges with steep slopes. There are 
many natural falls and cataracts and favor¬ 


able sites for building dams. The construc¬ 
tion of power dams in level regions often 
proves impracticable because the lake or res¬ 
ervoir formed may inundate large areas of 
valuable agricultural land. This is a diffi¬ 
culty seldom encountered in the narrow val¬ 
leys of western Montana. Natural rock 
foundations make dam building compara¬ 
tively easy. 

Facts to be especially well fixed. — 1. Differences 
between climate of eastern and western Montana. 


2. Chinooks and their effects. 3. Importance of 
local variations in climate. 4. The principal natu¬ 
ral resources. 

Problems for independent study. — 1. Of the in¬ 
fluences upon climate listed on page 240 of your 
main text, which appear to you to have the greatest 
effect upon climate in Montana? State your rea¬ 
sons fully. 

2. How do you account for the fact that Miles 
City has colder winters and warmer summers than 
Seattle? 

3. The average annual temperature in the four 
cities listed below varies only about one degree. 
Account for the fact that the January-July variation 
is much greater in the last two than in the first 



Courtesy Great Falls Commercial Clul 


Fig. 8.—Black Eagle Falls of the Missouri River 
One of three power projects near Great Falls. 






THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


IO 


two. Which shows the greatest differences between 


January and July 

average 

temperatures? 


Annual 

January 

July 

Anaconda 

42.7 

24 

62.7 

Missoula 

43 

21.3 

63.2 

Glendive 

42.9 

11 -3 

72.7 

Havre 

41.9 

13-5 

68.1 


4. Show several ways in which Chinook winds 
are injurious to farmers. To live stock growers. Of 
what value are these winds? 

5. The average frost-free period is estimated at 
108 days in Butte and 115 days in Missoula. After 
studying Fig. 1, account for this difference. 


6. The seven principal occupations in the United 
States are named on page 213 of your main text. 
Which of these is least important in Montana? 
Which of the natural resources in our State makes 
each of these occupations possible? 

What purposes are served by the forests 
of Montana? — The forest lands of Montana 
Where the are ' m the mountainous portion 
forests are 0 f the state. The heaviest stand 

of timber is west of the Continental Divide, 
four fifths of all the timber being in the Mis¬ 


soula and Kalispell districts. The eastern 
slope of the Rockies and outlying ranges 
have a lighter stand, and the trees are shorter 
and yield a lower per cent of high-grade 
lumber. Why? 

Timber lands of Montana are classified as 
(a) productive commercial areas and ( b ) pro¬ 
tective forest areas. (See main How ' timber 
text, page 221.) The produc- lands are 
tive commercial area is more 
than thirteen million acres, of which one half 
is covered with mature tim¬ 
ber and one half by repro¬ 
duction and young growth. 
About three tenths of the 
productive forest is privately 
owned; fifty-eight per cent is 
National Forest and the re¬ 
mainder about equally shared 
by National Parks, Indian 
reservations, and the state. 

Most of the protective 
forest area is owned by the 
federal government. It is 
important in protecting the 
land from erosion and in con¬ 
serving water supply. Timber 
reserves retard melting of the 
snow in the spring and make 
available a more steady supply 
for irrigation and water power. 

Most forest trees in Montana are of cone¬ 
bearing varieties — pine, fir, larch, spruce, 
hemlock, and cedar. Cottonwoods and wil¬ 
lows grow along the streams in every part of 
the state. Practically no hardwood lumber 
is produced in the State. 

From Fig. 5 it may be seen that a large 
part of the area of Montana is included 
within the National Forests. About 16,000,- 
000 acres are under the direct control of the 
federal government. Not all of this area is 



Courtesy National Forest Service 


Fig. 9.—Forest fire lookout cabin near Missoula 

Precautions of this kind help to keep down the annual loss caused by 
forest fires. 




THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


n 



Forest re¬ 
serves do not 
interfere with 


covered with timber, and it is 
not the intention of the gov¬ 
ernment to inter¬ 
fere with devel¬ 
opment of the 

in the state state s resources. 

Land suitable for 
agriculture is open for settle- 
ment. Sites suitable for 
water-power development 
may be utilized, but the gov¬ 
ernment does not permit any 
one to acquire a monopoly of 
such power or to hold sites 
without developing them. 

National forests are valuable 
for grazing. Forest reserves 
are the most extensive control 
exercised by the United States 
in the interest of conserva¬ 
tion, but there are Indian 
reservations, bird reserves, a bison range, and 
others designed to conserve mineral resources. 
Why does the national government control 
these? (See main text, pages 215-224.) 




Fig. 11. — Cattle grazing on the Beaverhead National Forest 


Fig. 10.—A forest-tree nursery in Lolo National Forest 

The Government is solving the problem of keeping forests on the mountains 
by planting many thousands of young trees on cut-over slopes. 


What mining means to Montana. — The 

rich gold discoveries of California in 1848 
brought gold-seekers, the “ forty-niners,” 
from every part of the earth. Prospectors 
began to look for gold every¬ 
where in the West and soon 
found the rich strikes at 
Bannack and Virginia City 
and later at Helena. No one 
actually knows how much gold 
was taken from any of these 
gulches, but estimates vary 
from $100,000,000 to $200,- 
000,000 for Virginia City, Alder 
Gulch, which may be consid¬ 
ered typical. From a suddenly 
assembled population of many 
thousands, this former great 
mining camp has declined in 
population until only a few 
hundred people are left. 


•' # ’ nr? 

Courtesy National Corest Service 




12 


THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 



The first mining at Virginia City and vicin¬ 
ity was for native or pure gold. (See main 
How gold text, page 132.) This was panned 
mining has or cradled (main text, pages 132- 
changed 134); then followed the sluice- 
box and placer mining. After these methods 
ceased to be profitable, the great gold ex¬ 
citement was over and population declined 
rapidly. Dredge-mining took the place of 


stone and gravel, “the earth turned upside 
down” to the depth of twenty feet or more. 

In quartz mining metals are not found in 
a native or pure state but are in the form of 
compounds called ores. Ores how ore veins 
occur in veins, not horizontally develop 
placed as we are apt to think from what we 
know of coal veins, but often almost vertical 
in position, following cracks or fissures caused 
by breaking of the earth’s 
crust. Long ago hot water 
deep in the earth dissolved 
mineral compounds. Full 
of such solutions, it rose in 
the earth fissures and cooled. 
Cool or cold water cannot 
hold as much mineral in 
solution as hot water does, 
and as such mineral com¬ 
pounds were deposited they 
gradually filled the fissures. 
These cracks filled with min¬ 
eral deposit we call veins. 
They are exceedingly irregu¬ 
lar in shape and mining must 
__ c follow them wherever they 

Courtesy National Forest Service J 


Fig. 12.—A cut-over area in the Bitter Root National Forest 

Note the brush piled for burning, to prevent the spread of fires; the trees 
left for seed; and the low stumps. 


cruder early methods. Worked-over gravel 
dumps were again worked, and lower grade 
gravels were made to yield a steady income. 
Gravel which yielded only five to fifteen 
cents’ worth of gold per cubic yard offered 
little chance for exciting “strikes,” but 
dredge mining in the vicinity of Virginia City 
was conducted profitably until very recently. 
The ground worked over by a large dredge 
is an impressive lesson in the value which is 
placed upon the yellow metal. In front of 
the boat may be rich farm land; behind it, 


lead. 

The most important mines 
are in or near Butte in Silver 
Bow County. (See Fig. 154.) 

Though this was at first a gold 

0 . Why copper 

camp, silver-bearing quartz soon mining be- 

proved more profitable, since 
gold was never exceedingly abun- than gold 
dant. Copper had been noticed minmg 
from the first, but without railroads the 
high cost of transportation took away all 
possible profit from copper operations. In 
time the relative importance of gold, silver, 
and copper was the reverse of what it had 
been before. Since about 1880 the rank has 
been copper, silver, gold. It was not alone 













THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


13 



the coming of the railroad which increased 
the importance of copper mining by making 
marketing less expensive. Great progress in 
electrical engineering was made about the 
same time. 

In the copper mines of the Butte district 
vertical shafts are constructed, some of them 
being 3400 feet deep. From 

1 . What a 

large copper these are run out horizontal pas- 

mine is like . ,. . ., 

sages along the veins, usually 
at each one hundred or two 
hundred feet; these are con¬ 
nected by passages. The vol¬ 
ume of the stopes from which 
the ore has been taken varies 
from five to ten times that 
of the passages. In one mine 
the total length of all passages 
is more than seven hundred 
miles. How long does it re¬ 
quire for you to walk a mile? 

If it were possible for you to 
walk through all these pas¬ 
sages, how many days would 
it take for you to “explore” 
this one mine? 

Ore is first loosened by 
blasting. A blast usually 
loosens waste rock along with 
the ore. This waste is piled 

>s back in one of the stopes which 
taken out of the has already been opened and 
timbered , or made safe and 
strong by wooden supports instead of the 
rock and ore which may have been cracked 
or removed in mining. 

The loosened ore is shoveled into chutes 
which carry it into mine cars on the main 
levels. Electric locomotives haul the cars to 
stations where it is dumped into receiving 
pockets in the shaft. From these it is loaded 
into skips , hoisted to the surface, and dis¬ 


tributed in the main bins. Electrically op¬ 
erated trains then carry it to the reduction 
works, where the ore is smelted. 

Smelting and refining separate the metal 
from the ore. One of the principal copper- 
producing ores is sulphide of How « blis 
copper , a compound of sulphur ter” copper is 

, . J , . . made from ore 

and copper united in such a way 

that it does not look like either sulphur or 

copper. Getting rid of the sulphur is the 


Courtesy Anaconda Copper Mining Co. 

Fig. 13.—A copper mine 

Hauling ore from chutes to shaft. Notice the electric light. 


chief problem in handling this ore, but in all 
ores many ingredients must be eliminated 
before pure copper results. 

The great reduction plant where ore is 
smelted is at Anaconda, twenty-six miles 
from Butte. (See main text, Fig. 155.) It 
was placed here because this was the nearest 
suitable location where an abundant supply 
of water could be had. The works are ar¬ 
ranged on a hillside because gravity helps in 
moving material from one department to an¬ 
other. 







14 


THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 



The ore as it is received from the mines is 
in particles ranging from the fineness of dust 
to pieces a foot or more in diameter. Mixed 
with it are large quantities of rock which 
have no value. All material is first run 
through the concentrator , where it is broken 
into pieces less than three eighths of an inch 
in diameter. By mechanical action and 
running water, waste, 
which is lighter than 
ore, is carried away. 

The concentrator 
thus changes a mass 
which is only three 
per cent copper into 
a concentrate which 
contains eight per 
cent of copper. 

Next, the concen¬ 
trates are roasted to 
burn out most of the 
sulphur and then 
placed in large fur¬ 
naces similar to those 
used in smelting iron. 

The result of smelt¬ 
ing is copper matte, a 
product containing 
forty or fifty per cent 
of copper. 

Matte is drawn 
from these furnaces 
in a molten condition and carried in huge 
iron ladles to the converter , where it is 
changed to metallic copper. This is next 
put through a refining furnace to remove 
other impurities. When this process is 
complete, the molten copper is drawn into 
cast-iron molds which form it into flat 
plates or anodes , weighing about three hun¬ 
dred pounds each. This is known as blister 
copper. 


Blister copper is sent to the refining plant 
at Great Falls (or to Perth Amboy, New Jer¬ 
sey). Abundant water power 

^ •, 11 4. What the 

made Great Falls a suitable re fmery makes 

place for electrolytic refining. f 0 ° p “ er bhster 

By this electric process about 

twenty ounces of silver and one-fourth ounce 

of gold per ton are extracted and copper of 

99.98 per cent purity 

is obtained. This is 

known as electrolytic 

copper. It is melted 

and cast in various 

forms, depending 

upon the purpose for 

which it is to be used. 

As you read about 

the concentration 

process, _ 

1 7 5. How an m- 

i t may genious process 
. saves waste 

have oc¬ 
curred to you that 
some of the valuable 
ore particles would 
be carried away by 
the water along with 
worthless material. 
This did formerly 
happen and such par¬ 
ticles were lost until 
the oil-flotation proc¬ 
ess was discovered. 
When certain oils are added to the mixture 
of water and particles of ore and rock, they 
stick to the metallic minerals but not to 
those which are nonmetallic. As the oils 
are lighter than water, the valuable particles 
are floated to the surface of the water, where 
they are recovered. This plan, which may 
have reminded you of greasing a needle to 
make it float, seems very simple, but it has 
saved a great deal of money for the copper 


Courtesy Anaconda Copper Mining Co. 

Fig. 14.— A portion of the refining plant of the 
Anaconda Copper Mining Co. at Anaconda 











THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


15 



industry. Other ingenious methods are in 
use to prevent waste and new plans are 
being devised. At present, nothing of great 
value escapes the smelting and refining 
processes. 

The first copper ores mined in Montana 
had to be sent to Swansea in Wales to be 
smelted, and it was not until 1892 that 
metallic copper was produced in Montana. 

6. Science, in- The Story of CO P 
vention, capital, per production 
and skilled la- 

bor required in is One of achieve- 
large mines . • 

ment in over¬ 
coming obstacles. It is the 
story of keen, well-trained 
men — inventors, scientists, 
and engineers — and of thou¬ 
sands of intelligent workmen. 

To operate the great mines so 
deep in the earth involves prob¬ 
lems of safety devices, ventila¬ 
tion, sanitation, and pumping 
to keep mines dry. Great 
amounts of capital and skill¬ 
ful management are needed. 

Such mining is very different 
from the simple operations 
of the early gold days. 

The story of zinc is like 
that of copper. For years 
zinc concentrates had to be 
shipped to the natural gas 

fields of Oklahoma for final treat- 

Why the pro- . 

auction of zinc ment in purifying the metal. 

Manganese, an essential ingre¬ 
dient in production of a very hard 
and high-grade steel, is mined 
at Butte and in Granite County near Philips- 
burg. A plant at Great Falls receives manga¬ 
nese ore and converts it into ferro-manganese 
(iron-manganese). It is used extensively in 
the steel plants of America and Europe. 


Lead ores are found, but most lead pro¬ 
duced in Montana comes as a by-product in 
smelting and refining other ores. A large 
part of the silver now produced also comes 
as a by-product, though one of A few impor _ 
the world’s largest silver mines tant mining 
is at Butte. Most of the gold b y _ P roducts 
and platinum are also by-products. Sulphu¬ 
ric acid is the most important by-product. 


and man¬ 
ganese in 
Montana is 
increasing 


Courtesy Great Falls Commercial Club 

Fig. 15.—Electrolytic refining plant, zinc plant, and wire and 
rod mills at Great Falls 


It is used along with phosphate mined in 
Idaho to produce a high-grade fertilizer. 
Research is being carried on to perfect 
methods of utilizing other by-products. At 
Anaconda phosphates for fertilizers and a 
host of less important by-products are now 
saved by scientific methods. 

The metal mines at Butte rank among the 
greatest in the world, but there are produc¬ 
tive mines in Beaverhead, Broadwater, 





i6 


THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 



Courtesy Great Falls Commercial Club 

Fig. 16. — Coal mine at Stockett, fifteen miles from Great Falls 

Cascade, Deer Lodge, Fergus, Granite, 

Montana’s Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, 
rank in cop- Madison, Phillips, and Powell 
goidfancTzinc counties. Montana ranks first 
production [ n production of silver, manga¬ 
nese, and precious stones, and third in cop¬ 
per and zinc. 

Montana is well supplied with coal. Large 
beds of lignite are well distributed, especially 


in the northern and eastern 
parts of the state. (See main 
text, page 6.) Where coal 
The largest pro- is mined 
ducing mines of coal are at 
Roundup in Musselshell 
County, at Red Lodge and 
Bear Creek in Carbon County, 
and at Belt, Stockett, and 
Sand Coulee in Cascade 
County. The coal from these 
large mines is sub-bituminous. 
Much of it is used by the 
railroads. A great number of 
smaller mines in nearly every 
part of the state supply coal, 
usually of less satisfactory 
quality. For local fuel needs 
these mines will doubtless be much more 
generally developed, especially where hard- 
surface roads are built. 

Oil wells in Montana (Elk Creek Basin) 
produced nearly 100,000 barrels in 1917. In 
1920 the total production in the QU industry 
state was 336,000 barrels; in in Montana 
1921, 1,435,000 barrels; and in lsnew 
1922 more than 2,000,000 barrels. In 1923 



Fig. 17. —West end of Cat Creek oil field, eastern part of Fergus County 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


17 


more than one hundred producing wells are 
reported, most of these being in the Cat 
Creek and Kevin-Sunburst fields. The depth 
of wells so far developed varies between 1000 
and 2500 feet. Progress in the oil industry 
makes it impossible to make many state¬ 
ments which are sure to remain true very 
long. (See pages 36 and 114 of your main 
text.) Natural gas occurs at Havre, Glen¬ 
dive, and Baker, in the Elk Basin and 
Kevin oil fields. Billings is supplied with 
gas from Elk Basin field and Shelby from 
Kevin. 

Limestone, granite, marble for building, 

phosphates, and graphite are other mineral 

f resources which have been to 

our stone re- some extent profitably devel- 

sources are oped. Precious stones, espe- 
used . . 1 

dally sapphires, have been the 
source of a considerable income for many 
years. The fine sapphires bring a high price 
as ornaments and the smaller ones are used 
in making watch jewels, a purpose they serve 
well since they are one of the hardest of sub¬ 
stances. Sapphires have been extensively 
produced in Granite, Lewis and Clark, and 
Deer Lodge counties, but for many years the 
largest supply has come from the Yogo Creek 
district in Judith Basin County. Originally 
these gems were picked up from various 
gravels, but the greatest supply now results 
from grinding the rock in which they occur 
and exposing it to weathering and the action 
of water. The total value of the sapphires 
produced during the most successful year of 
the industry was nearly a quarter of a million 
dollars. 

Facts to be especially well fixed. — 1. Differences 
between early gold mining and present-day copper 
mining. 2. How ore is made into copper. 3. Where 
metals and coal are mined. 4. Where oil and gas 
are found. 


Problems for independent study. — 1. Show how 
lumbering, grazing, and farming are related to min¬ 
ing. 

2. Butte, Anaconda, and Great Falls are the im¬ 
portant points in the great mining operations of 
Montana. What natural geographic conditions ac¬ 
count for the fact that these places were selected? 

3. If silver is worth one dollar an ounce and gold 
is w'orth twenty dollars an ounce, how much more is 
the silver from a ton of blister copper worth than 
the gold? 

4. Make a list of all uses of copper of which you 
can think; of gold; of silver; of iron. Which is the 
longest list? Which do you consider the most useful 
metal? Why is gold highest in price? 

5. Name four different ways in which the devel¬ 
opment of electricity affected the copper industry 
in Montana. 

Agriculture and stock raising are common 
to nearly all parts of Montana. — Many 
early settlers who came to Mon- TT r 

J . How farming 

tana in search of gold were dis- began in Mon- 

appointed. As food products tana 
were scarce and brought remarkably high 
prices in mining camps, some of these people 
very naturally turned to agriculture. Farm¬ 
ing was long confined to river valleys in the 
western part of the state, but settlers later 
took up many homesteads upon the cattle 
and sheep ranges. Experience has now 
shown the advantages and disadvantages of 
farming in Montana. Compare some of the 
advantages and disadvantages of farming 
noted in the following paragraphs with those 
in western Kansas, as indicated on page 66 
of your main text. 

We have already noted the fertility of 
much of the soil, due to the fact that it has 
not been leached by heavy rains. 

Conditions 

The long sunlight of summer favorable to 
days and the fact that most of P rofitable 
the rainfall comes during the 
growing season are important. The cool 



i8 


THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


nights decrease danger from rust among grain 
crops. The large expanses of level or gently 
rolling land make use of tractors practicable. 
The price of farm land in Montana is not 
high; less capital is required to become a 
landowner than in most farming regions in 
the United States. 

Yet there are many conditions which make 
farming peculiarly difficult. Occasional al- 

Difficulties to kali S P° tS reC l Uire eX P ensive treat - 
be overcome ment before farming can be suc- 

in farming cessfully carried on. In a few 
places there are large areas of gumbo soil 
which may possess most of the elements of 
fertility but seldom produces a crop because 
of its texture. The annual rainfall is not 
more than twenty inches in most parts of the 
state and is often much less, which means 
that farming as practiced in states where 
rainfall is abundant is not sure to produce 
crops. The Chinooks, which may be wel¬ 
comed in winter, sometimes become the hot 
winds of summer, parching promising crops 
in a few days. Within small areas hail¬ 
storms are often destructive. Insect pests, 
especially grasshoppers and cut-worms, af¬ 
fect small areas nearly every year. 

In spite of these obstacles, agriculture is 
the most important occupation in the state, 
often notably successful and sure to be a 


profitable undertaking when conditions are 
better understood. The two distinct types 
of farming common to all of the Western 
States east of the mountains as described in 
your main text (irrigation, page 137, and dry 
farming, page 144) are found in nearly all 
parts of Montana. 

Farming by irrigation developed first near 
mining camps. It proved so successful that 
in a few years most of the low- 

J Where farm¬ 

land valleys near the streams i ng by irriga- 

were in farms. These early irri- 
gated valleys, such as the Bitter 
Root, Beaverhead, Deer Lodge, Gallatin, and 
Yellowstone, have been very important in 
development of the state. 

The first irrigation projects (main text, 
pages 136-138) were on a small scale, con¬ 
ducted either by individuals or . 

. How the lrri- 

by several persons in partner- ga ted areas 

ship. More recently the Recla- ^J a e s ^ en m “ 
mation Service of the United 
States has been developing new areas of irri¬ 
gated land on a large scale. Four of these 
projects, Huntly, Lower Yellowstone, Milk 
River, and Sun River, known as Reclamation 
Service Projects, will, when completed, in¬ 
clude nearly a half million acres. Three 
others, the Blackfeet, Flathead, and Fort 
Peck, known as Indian Service Projects, will 



Fig. 18. —Haying on the Valier Irrigation Project 


Courtesy Great Falls Commercial Club 







THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


19 


add four hundred thousand acres to the 
irrigated lands of the state. 

There are also six Carey Act Projects, de¬ 
veloped by private companies who work 
under supervision of state officials. These 
are the Valier, almost entirely in Pondera 
County, the Teton in Teton County, the 
“Billings Bench” near Billings, the Big Tim¬ 
ber in Sweet Grass County, the Flatwillow in 
Fergus County, and the Little Missouri near 
the southeastern corner of the state. In 
some of these little development work had 
been done by 1923. The total area of the 
six is 162,285 acres; about half of this has 
been taken up by settlers. Because of the 
many homestead filings made during recent 
years there is no remaining area in the state 
large enough for profitable development un¬ 
der the Carey Act or by the United States 
government under any present laws. Proj¬ 
ects in the future will probably be under the 
cooperative district plan. 

About 30,000,000 acres, one third of Mon¬ 
tana’s area, have been classified as farming 
Whatpropor- land. About 7,000,000 acres are 
tion of Mon- capable of being irrigated. Un- 
or may be irri- der irrigation or capable of irri- 
ga ted gation projects already started 

are less than 2,000,000 acres. 

Dry farming is practiced in parts of the 
state where water for irrigation is not avail¬ 
able. The method of summer 
farming y may fallowing (main text, page 146) 

cessfui* 6 SUC " * s successfull y use d, one crop 
being raised every two years. A 
considerable part of the annual precipitation is 
in the form of snow, which melts gradually and 
sinks into the ground without great loss from 
run-off or evaporation. Since farming is less 
difficult, other conditions being equal, where 
the rainfall is comparatively heavy, farms on 
foothills and benches are more likely to be suc- 




Courtesy Montana Development Assn. 


Figs. 19-22 

Figs. 19-22 illustrate four processes connected with 
summer fallowing: disking, plowing, packing soil, harrow¬ 
ing. Find out the reason for each process. 







20 


THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 




Fig. 23.—A cornfield in eastern Montana 


cessful than those on the lowlands. Land 
lying immediately east of mountain ranges is 
seldom satisfactory for dry farming. 

The principal dry-land crop has been 
wheat. Fall-sown wheat has usually pro¬ 
duced a larger yield per acre than wheat 
planted in the spring, but the acreage of the 
latter is much greater. It matures earlier, 
thus being more likely to escape the drought 
of summer. It is often too 
dry in the autumn to give 
winter wheat a start. During 
“open” winters it is some¬ 
times winter-killed. On wind¬ 
swept areas whole fields are 
occasionally “blown away,” 
and even the earliest matur¬ 
ing winter wheat does not al¬ 
ways escape the hot, drying 
summer winds. 

Corn and sun-flowers are 
increasingly important dry¬ 
farming crops, since they may 
in part be made to serve the 
same purpose as summer fal¬ 


lowing and, when converted 
into ensilage, may furnish food 
for hogs and cattle. In the 
plains section of the state 
and in the lower valleys where 
the growing season and rain¬ 
fall are sufficient for these 
crops, the dry-land farmer is 
less dependent upon small 
grain crops alone. 

The principal grain crops of 
Montana are wheat, oats, flax, 
barley, rye, and 

u What crops 

corn. Wild hay are most ex- 

is of an exception- tensi veiy 
. . raised 
ally nutritious 

quality. Alfalfa, of which 
there are from two to four cuttings, is pro¬ 
duced in nearly all parts of the state. Timo¬ 
thy and clover are used for hay and pasture. 

Sugar beets (main text, page 142) are 
raised in large quantities in the neighbor¬ 
hood of Billings. Potatoes, cabbage, and 
peas are paying commercial crops. Most 
garden vegetables thrive, those which re¬ 
quire a long frost-free season being more 


Courtesy Great Western Sugar Co. 

Fig. 24. —A sugar beet field near Billings 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


21 


generally grown in the eastern half of the 
state. The growing of such crops as alfalfa, 
sweet clover, potatoes, and peas for seed is 
of increasing importance. 

The most important fruit section is the 
Bitter Root Valley in Ravalli County. Its 
best known fruit is the McIntosh Red apple, 
which always commands high prices in apple 
markets. Other important fruit regions are 
near Flathead Lake, in the vicinity of Billings, 
and in the valley of Clark’s Fork of the Yellow¬ 
stone. Apples, plums, cherries, 
and berries are raised success¬ 
fully in each of these districts. 

The great expanses of grass- 
covered plains afford oppor- 

Natural re- ^unities for g raz ‘ 
sources for ing similar to 
grazing those of other 

Plains states. Untillable 
mountain slopes and small 
valleys or those which are 
too isolated for profitable 
cultivation greatly increase 
opportunity for raising horses, 
cattle, and sheep. A large 
part of the National Forest 
area is available for grazing. 

In the mountain region of 
the state, altitude, cool summers, nutritious 
grasses, and well-watered ranges combine to 
grow stock of unusual size and remarkable 
freedom from disease. 

Horse raising has diminished in impor¬ 
tance and the enormous sales once held an¬ 
nually at Dillon and Miles City 
tion less im- no longer bring together thou- 

portant than sands of horses for Eastern mar- 
formerly _ ... ... 

kets. Horse raising is rapidly 
becoming like the same occupation in older 
farming regions. Each farm or ranch may 
produce horses enough for its own needs 


with an occasional surplus of a few for 
sale. 

Cattle raising (main text, pages 80 and 
146) has also changed. The first market cat¬ 
tle produced in Montana had How cattle 
to be driven long distances, per- raising differs 

i ^ i i r 1 ii fr° m tlie same 

haps to Ogden, before they could occupation in 
be loaded upon trains. Settlers P ioneer da y s 
were few and far between and the ranchers 
and cowboys who took care of their herds did 
nothing else; some of them despised farming 


and depended upon distant markets for many 
supplies which could have been produced at 
home. Large herds were the order of the 
day. 

When we read about some of the large 
herds of earlier days we are apt to think that 
many more cattle were produced than are 
now raised in the state. In this we should 
of course be wrong, for statistics show a grad¬ 
ual though not uniform increase in cattle 
production. There are now many more small 
ranches and farms upon which a few cattle 
are raised. Many dairy herds are required 







22 


THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 



Fig. 26. — Grazing land, where plains and mountains meet in central Montana 



to supply milk and butter to the increased 
population of our cities, and many of the 
large ranches are as large as ever. In fact 
in some parts of the state, both in the cattle 
and sheep industry, the largest ranches seem 
to be increasing in size. 

Cattle are often kept upon the range during 
grazing season and driven to hay-producing 
valleys for wintering. Thus live-stock raising 
and agriculture are combined to the advan¬ 


Fig. 27. — On a sheep ranch in Beaverhead County 


tage of each, since the distance from ship¬ 
ping points may render market- 
mg hay unprofitable. In general and agricul- 
the raising of cattle is attended [^ d are re “ 
with less loss through starvation 
and exposure than in the days where only 
large herds were found, and the quality of 
stock is being steadily improved. 

Cattle raising in Montana encounters sev¬ 
eral peculiar obstacles. While a severe win- 
ter storm no n , , 

Present prob- 
longer means the lems of cattle 

loss of thousands industr y 
of cattle, there is more loss 
than where farm buildings are 
adequate to protect all stock. 
An occasional very dry sum¬ 
mer shortens the season for 
grazing and at the same time 
reduces the hay crop which is 
depended upon for winter 
feeding. If feed must be 
shipped from long distances 
its cost is likely to take away 
all profit from the cattle which 
are being fed. And finally, 
distance from the great cattle 
markets makes freight costs 





THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


23 


How sheep 
production 
differs from 
cattle raising 


a serious problem, though cheap land and 
low price of feed during most seasons more 
than make up for this difficulty. 

Much of what has been said about cattle 
production applies also to sheep raising. 

Sheep, however, bite closer to 
the ground and can live on range 
where cattle would starve. Profit 
upon their wool is not so seri¬ 
ously affected by freight rates because it is 
not heavy when compared with its value. 
Montana wool is of fine quality and com¬ 
mands high prices. Montana ranks near the 
head of the list of states in wool and sheep 
products. 

Hog raising and poultry production have 
become occupations of great importance. 
How in- As more attention is given to 
creased vari- corn cultivation it may be ex- 
Uon affects 110 " P ec ted that pork production will 

farming in continue to increase. Bee cul- 
Montana , . r , . 

ture is successfully practiced in 
several farming communities, especially in 
southern Montana. As dairying and other 
minor rural industries become more impor¬ 
tant, the individual farmer is less dependent 
upon a single resource. Failure in principal 
crops there may still be, but total failures will 
seldom occur. 


Facts to be especially well fixed. — 1. The two 
methods of farming in Montana. 2. Principal crops. 
3. Changed conditions in stock raising. 

Problems for independent study. — 1. Make a 
list of the favorable and unfavorable conditions for 
agriculture in the community where you live. 

2. It is sometimes possible to increase crop 
yields by introducing new varieties of grain which 
may mature earlier or may be more hardy when ex¬ 
posed to frost or drought. Which branch of the 
University of Montana would you write to for ad¬ 
vice as to agriculture? What is an experiment 
station? 

3. Crops are sometimes protected by destroy¬ 
ing animal or insect pests. If you had trouble with 


gophers or grasshoppers, what could you do to save 
a crop? 


4. By study of the table of Montana farm crops 
in the Appendix find ( a) the comparative impor¬ 
tance of winter and spring wheat; (b) the crop 
which produced the greatest value per acre in 1922; 
and ( c ) an example of a large crop which had less 
value than a smaller one the preceding year because 
of a decreased market price. 

5. Using the same table, which of the crops do 
you think must in part or altogether be shipped out 
of Montana? What city or cities are the markets? 
Learn, if possible, the freight rates by the bushel, 
ton, or carload lot. 

6. Account for the fact that more than half the 
acreage of Montana in small fruits is in Flathead, 
Ravalli, and Missoula counties (census 1920). 

7. From the following table of principal coun¬ 
ties producing orchard fruits determine two impor¬ 
tant orchard sections. Account for their location, 
using the map. 


Montana 
Ravalli County 
Flathead County 
Missoula County 
Carbon County 
Yellowstone County 


Trees Yield 

OF BEAR- IN BUSH¬ 
ING AGE ELS, 1919 

I,l6l,44I 702,523 

778,713 405,253 

122,508 54,610 
70,569 6l,9IO 
61,986 76,616 

24,438 44,841 


8. On page 136 of your main text is a map which 
shows seven irrigation projects in Montana. Com¬ 
pare their names with the names of projects men¬ 
tioned in this study of agriculture in Montana. 
What river makes each project possible? 

9. After reading page 45 of the main text, where 
should you expect Montana’s wool clip to be mar¬ 
keted? In manufactured form some of this comes 
back to Montana. Why is not this manufacturing 
done nearer where the wool is produced? 

10. In general, horse production in Montana is 
becoming less important and dairying, hog, and 
poultry raising are increasing. Account for these 
facts. Are they true in your community? 


The development of travel, trade, and 
manufacturing. — Of the transcontinental 
railroads in the United States, three cross 
Montana. Which are these? One of them, 




24 


THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 



the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul, uses 
electric engines run by power generated at 
several hydroelectric plants 
is connected (main text, page 152)* the 
with the East electric locomotives are heavier 
and more powerful than the 
steam locomotives which they displaced. 
They are so much more powerful in fact that 
each one run by elec- 
tricity can do about 
three times as much 
work as a steam loco¬ 
motive. From Har- 
lowton to a point 
beyond the western 
border of the state 
the “Milwaukee” 

(C. M. and St.P.) uses 
only electric power. 

All the transconti¬ 
nental lines must 
overcome steep grades 
and make abrupt 
tt .curves 

How railroads 
cross the ill croSS- 

mountains ing the 

mountains. “Pushers ’ 7 
must be used at cer¬ 
tain points upon all 
but the shortest and 
lightest trains. One road has a two per cent 
grade for twenty-one miles. If a train climbs 
two feet each time it moves one hundred feet, 
how much higher would it be at the end 
than at the beginning of its twenty-one-mile 
climb? Another has a one per cent grade for 
forty-nine miles. There are many abrupt 
curves and horseshoe-like bends. 

On the map these roads appear to travel 
in a nearly straight direction, but in finding 
the easiest way over the mountains all are 
forced to go west, east, north, and south, to 


Fig. 28. - 


Courtesy Chicago, 

An electrified 


follow crooked rivers even when they seem 
to be going in the wrong direction. At one 
point in a narrow pass trains pass each other 
on different lines, going in opposite directions, 
though the general course of each is from east 
to west. Travel in the mountainous parts of 
Montana is peculiarly interesting because of 
the ever-changing variety of scenery. 

The Chicago, Bur¬ 
lington, and Quincy 
Railroad enters the 
state from the south¬ 
east; it TT . 

’ How Montana 
joins the is connected 

Northern withtheSouth 
Pacific at Billings, 
and its trains run on 
the same tracks or 
upon those of the 
Great Northern to 
the west and north. 
With what important 
cities does the “Bur¬ 
lington” (C. B. and 
Q.) connect Mon¬ 
tana? 

At Butte the Ore¬ 
gon Short Line, a 
part of the Union 
Pacific system, con¬ 
nects the other roads with the main lines of 
the Union Pacific. If you were at Butte, by 
how many different routes could you start to 
Chicago? To St. Paul? To San Francisco? 

Automobile roads connect important points 
and reach scenic resorts (Fig. 2). The Yel¬ 
lowstone Trail and the Park to 

Automobile 

Park Highway are being de- roads and at- 
veloped into excellent roads. ^^“ sfor 
Though not listed as a resource, 

Montana’s attractions for tourists are in¬ 
creasingly receiving attention. Two great 


Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway Co, 

railroad line in Montana 





THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


25 


National Parks are within or bordering upon 
the state. 

More than a hundred thousand persons 
visit Yellowstone Park each season. Its 

1. Yellowstone greatest features of interest are 

National Park fae g 0 y Sers ( ma i n text, page 

163), the great canyon, and the opportunity 
to study wild animals and plants of the 
mountain region. Bears, deer, and other 
four-footed creatures and wild birds are pro¬ 
tected from hunters. They live about as 
they did before white men came to the West. 
The forests have not been 
disturbed more than is neces¬ 
sary to construct roads and 
provide hotels and camps for 
tourists. 

Glacier Park is interesting 
especially for its glaciers, rug- 

2. Glacier Na- ged mountains, 
tionai Park an d picturesque 

lakes. These two great parks 
are maintained by the United 
States Government. 

Yellowstone Park has three 
principal entrances, Gardiner, 

Cody, and West Yellowstone. 

By what railroad is each 
reached? What railroad reaches Glacier Park? 

In addition to these widely known parks, 
there are many beautiful valleys and impres¬ 
sive mountain ranges, such as the 

3. Why tourist . 

business is in- Bitter Root and Mission Range. 

There are scores of deep, cold, 
clear mountain lakes and one larger lake, 
Flathead. Hot springs are found in many 
counties. Trout fishing is excellent in hun¬ 
dreds of mountain streams. 

The pleasant summers which prevail in a 
large portion of the state give Montana un¬ 
usual advantages for summer outings of 
tourists. In addition to permanent road¬ 


building which is extending the main high¬ 
ways, the natural dirt roads are usually good 
during the touring season. Provisions for the 
comfort and accommodation of auto tourists 
are being improved (main text, page 162). 

Resources for manufacturing in Montana 
include first of all the raw materials from 
mines and quarries, farms and why water 
ranches, gardens and orchards, P ower is 
forests and oil wells. Adequate electric cur- 
transportation facilities bring to- rent 
gether raw materials and distribute finished 


products. Coal, natural gas, and abundant 
water power are important items in any con¬ 
sideration of the development of manufac¬ 
turing in Montana. 

Water power is an increasingly valuable 
manufacturing resource (main text, page 
151). In a sense the power plants are manu¬ 
facturing enterprises themselves, since they 
make the fast force of a waterfall useful in a 
form which creates other products. At each 
power plant large turbine wheels are con¬ 
nected with electrical generators which de¬ 
velop the electric current. 

This is carried by wires to distant towns 








26 


THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 



courtesy Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Raihvay Co. 

Fig- 3 °- —A large hydroelectric plant at Great Falls 


and cities, where it is used for heating and 
lighting and cooking, running 

i. Work which ° ° 

electric power street cars, operating machin¬ 
ery, and driving trains on the 
Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul and the 
Butte, Anaconda, and Pacific railroads. 
Electric power is used in mines and 
smelters. It is used near the plant where 
it is produced whenever this is possible, 
since much of it is lost if it must be 
transmitted long distances over wires. 

Power plants already completed have a 
combined capacity of 420,000 horse-power. 
The principal completed hydroelectric 


(water-power electric) plants 
are at the Rainbow Falls, 
Black Eagle 

, A ^ ,2. What deter- 

r alls, and Great m i nes location 

Falls of the Mis- of water "P ower 
r ans 01 me mis electric plants 

souri River near 
Great Falls; at Hauser Lake, 
Canyon Ferry, and Holter 
on the Missouri River, 
where it breaks through the 
mountains, all within thirty 
miles of Helena; at Thomp¬ 
son Falls on Clark Fork of 
the Columbia; and on the 
Madison, Big Hole, and Yel¬ 
lowstone rivers. It is esti¬ 
mated that undeveloped 
power sites may add 3,911,000 horse-power 
of electric current. Nearly all of the elec¬ 
tricity used in Montana is generated by 
water power. 

The most extensive manufacturing enter¬ 
prises in the State are those connected with 
the mining industry. The smelt- important 
ing and refining of ores have al- industnes 
ready been described. At Great Falls copper 
is made into wire. Copper is thus carried 
from mine to finished product within Mon¬ 
tana. As a by-product of smelting operations, 
arsenic, sulphuric acid, and acid-phosphate 
fertilizers are manufactured at Anaconda. 



Fig. 31.—A lumber mill 









THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


27 


Lumber mills, to the number of more than 
one hundred, are in operation, the most im¬ 
portant being at Bonner, Libby, Eureka, and 
other points in the northwestern part of the 
state. The average amount of lumber cut in 
the state annually for the period from 1916 to 
1921 was 329,682,000 feet. There is also large 
production of railroad ties and mine tim¬ 
bers. 

The largest flour mills are at Great Falls, 
Bozeman, and Billings, and there are mills 
in every wheat-producing section of the 
state. Meat-packing plants are in operation 
at Butte, Great Falls, and Billings. 

Manufacture of beet sugar at Billings has 
proved to be a successful industry. Beets 
are extensively grown in Yellowstone, Rose¬ 
bud, Treasure, Richland, Carbon, and Still¬ 
water counties upon irrigated land. The crop 
is harvested in September and October. The 
factory operates about sixty days each year 
and employs several hundred men. 

Cement is extensively manufactured at 
Trident in Gallatin County and at Hanover 
near Lewistown (main text, page 43). Bricks 
of excellent grade and various other kinds of 
clay products are made at Lewistown and 
Helena and a dozen other places. At Ram¬ 
sey, near Butte, is a plant which manufac¬ 
tures various kinds of dynamite. 

Oil refineries at several points near the oil 


fields use crude oil as it comes from the wells 
as raw material. From this several com¬ 
mercially important products are made, the 
principal one being gasoline. As new oil 
fields are developed, it is probable that oil 
refineries will become increasingly impor¬ 
tant. 

There are canneries at B ozeman and S tevens- 
ville and creameries in many places (54 in all). 
Nearly every city has small man- T , 

J J J . Large scale 

ufacturing concerns which serve manufacturing 

the needs of the community. “T'locaUn- 
Perhaps you can think of an ex- dustries in 
ample of this kind of manufac- every Clty 
turing. Such industries are important locally, 
and occasionally one may expand until it 
supplies a large territory. The source of 
raw material, cost of shipping, and the num¬ 
ber of people who are within reasonable dis¬ 
tance need to be considered in estimating 
the probable growth of a manufacturing un¬ 
dertaking. With these in mind, it seems 
that Montana’s most important large indus¬ 
tries will develop in using raw materials 
which our state alone can produce or which 
it can produce at a lower cost than other 
parts of the country. What are some of 
these? 

Facts to be especially well fixed. — 1. The trans¬ 
continental railroads which cross the state. 2. The 
important manufactures of Montana. 



in western Montana 





28 


THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


Problems for independent study. — i. Describe 
a railroad journey between points named here, in¬ 
dicating names of railroads and points at which 
change must be made from one railroad to another: 

Poison to Baker Hamilton to Libby 

Poison to Red Lodge Conrad to Billings 

Glendive to Lewistown Glasgow to Dillon 

2. What reasons can you give to prove that im¬ 
portant kinds of manufacturing not now carried on 
in Montana will or will not be developed in the 
future? 

3. In 1922, 1,250,000,000 kilowatt hours of elec¬ 
tricity developed by water power were used in Mon¬ 
tana. Under favorable 

conditions three pounds 
of coal are required to de¬ 
velop one kilowatt hour 
of electricity by steam 
power. How many tons 
of coal would have been 
consumed in developing 
this amount of power by 
steam? What would the 
coal be worth at six 
dollars a ton? 

4. What are the most 
important commodities 
shipped into the town in 
or near which you live? 

Which of them come 
from other Montana 

communities? Which are manufactured goods and 
which are raw material? 

5. What are the most important products 
shipped out of the city in or near which you live? 
Where are these sent? 

What provision is made for schools? — 

In education Montana holds high rank. 
™ x Every city and town has grade 

Why Montana JJ b 

ranks high in and high schools. School build- 
education f n g S are usua qy mo dern, com¬ 
fortable, and well equipped. There are nine¬ 
teen (1923) county high schools. All high 
schools, whether county or city, are supported 
by a county tax and are free to all pupils who 
live within the county. In many villages and 



Fig. 32. 


towns the schoolhouse is by far the best 
building and is the pride of the community. 

Rural schools differ very greatly in equip¬ 
ment. In some the best of school work is 
being done. In some one- Some rural 
teacher schools there are not school prob- 
more than five pupils and in lems 
more than a third of the schools, not more 
than ten. Excellent work may be done in 
such small schools, but the cost per pupil is 
very great. In some localities rural schools 
are being consolidated into larger districts; 

but in many sparsely 
settled regions this 
plan is not prac¬ 
ticable. 

The per cent of il¬ 
literacy in Montana, 
that is, 

’ The per cent 
the num- of illiteracy is 

ber per decreasing 
hundred persons more 
than ten years of age 
who cannot write in 
any language, regard¬ 
less of ability to read, 
is 2.3. The per cent 
for the United States is 6.0. The total illiter¬ 
acy of Montana in 1920 was 9544. 

The state provides advanced training in the 
University of Montana. This includes the 
State University at Missoula, where high 
State College at Bozeman, State 
School of Mines at Butte, and 
State Normal College at Dillon. 

Each specializes in training for certain profes¬ 
sions or occupations. These institutions have 
grown rapidly in recent years and many new 
buildings have been provided by the people 
of the state, who have thus shown that they 
believe in providing the best of training for 
Montana young men and women. 


Courtesy Great Falls Commercial Cluo 

A junior high school at Great Falls 


school gradu¬ 
ates continue 
their educa¬ 
tion 





THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


29 


Education is furnished for incorrigible boys 

in the Industrial School at Miles City and 

0 for incorrigible girls at the Girls’ 

tutions pro- Vocational School near Helena. 

vided by the F or unfortunate, Montana 
state ... 

makes provision in the Orphans’ 

Home at Twin Bridges; for the Deaf, Blind, 

and Feeble-minded, at Boulder. The State 

Hospital for the Insane is at Warm Springs, 

the State Tuberculosis Sanitarium at Galen, 

and the State Penitentiary at Deer Lodge. 

The chief cities of Montana. 

— The population of Montana 
in 1920 was 548,889. In 1910 
it was 376,053. What was the 
per cent of increase during the 
ten years? Of the total popu¬ 
lation (1920), 307,179 lived 
in the country and 241,710 in 
the cities and towns whose 
population is given in the 
statistics which follow. Nearly 
one third of the population 
lives in cities of more than 
2500 inhabitants. Many 
places of less than 2500 are 
very important because they 
are trading centers for large 
areas. They are very different from towns 
of equal population in older sections of the 
country. (See main text, page 152.) 

Butte (41,611) is the mining center of the state. 
In addition to the large mines there are hundreds of 
smaller ones. Although several minerals are pro¬ 
duced, copper is by far the most important. When 
the price of copper is low, many of the mines cease to 
operate; when copper is high, nearly all mines are 
worked and new prospects are developed. Because 
of the unusual opportunity for immediate acquaint¬ 
ance with mining, the State School of Mines is in 
Butte. 

The main lines of two transcontinental railroads 
pass through Butte. A branch of the. Great North¬ 


ern connects with the main line in the northern 
part of the state, and the Oregon Short Line con¬ 
nects with the Union Pacific in Idaho and Utah. 
The Butte, Anaconda, and Pacific unites Butte and 
Anaconda and carries ore to the smelter. Butte is 
thus the principal railroad center of Montana. 
Though mining is its chief industry, its railroad 
advantages make it an important wholesale and 
distributing center. 

Great Falls (24,121) derives the name from its 
location near the “great falls” of the Missouri 
River. It is the most important railroad center of 
northern Montana. Its water power, the coal fields 


Fig- 33- — Copper mines at Butte 

of Belt, Stockett, and Sand Coulee, clay for mak¬ 
ing brick, building stone, important oil fields in 
adjacent territory, and the great communities of 
farms and ranches tributary to it give Great Falls 
many advantages as a manufacturing and distribu¬ 
ting center. Its flour mills are the largest in the 
state. The metal refineries, packing houses, brick 
yards, a wire mill, and railroad shops make work for 
thousands of employees. Great Falls is justly 
proud of its well-laid-out streets and beautiful park 
system. 

Billings (15,100) is the center of a large area of 
irrigated farm land. It has numerous local manu¬ 
facturing industries. Commercially the most impor¬ 
tant of these is the making of beet sugar. As an 
important railroad center, Billings is the wholesale 










30 


THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 



Fig- 34- — A general view of Billings 


and distribution point for a large section of southern 
and eastern Montana. 

Missoula (12,668) is the trading center for a 
large part of the Flathead, Blackfoot, Hell Gate, 
Bitter Root, and Grass valleys. Two transconti¬ 
nental railroads here make their way through the 
only gap in the mountains, and branch lines give 
convenient access to the valleys just noted. Lumber 
and forest industries are important. The State 
University is at Missoula. 

Helena (12,037) as the seat of state government 
is important politically. Many business corpora¬ 
tions direct their Montana enterprises from Helena 
headquarters. Several religious denominations man¬ 
age their organizations from Helena. Helena may 
thus be called the governing center of the state in 
other than political respects. Montana Wesleyan 
College and St. Charles College are in Helena. The 
State Fair and the State Vocational School for girls 
are also here. Mining, once the only industry in 
Last Chance Gulch, is still of importance, a custom 
smelter being at East Helena. Helena is the ship¬ 
ping and distributing center of an agricultural section. 

Anaconda (11,668) is the “smelter city.” Most 
of the ore mined at Butte is sent to Anaconda. 
Many useful by-products are made in addition to 
copper, which is the most important. The Washoe 
smelter of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company is 
said to be the largest ore-reducing plant in the world. 

Miles City (7937) is the largest town in eastern 
Montana. It is the center and distributing point 
of a large agricultural and grazing region, and a 


great cattle market. The State Industrial School 
for boys is at Miles City. 

Livingston (6311) has large railroad shops, and 
is a center of tourist traffic for those who visit 
Yellowstone Park. 

Bozeman (6183) is the center of the rich Gallatin 
Valley. Milling is important. The State College 
of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts is at Bozeman. 

Lewistown (6120) is important as the market 
of one of the principal grain-growing sections of 
the state. Brick and tile are manufactured here. 
One of the chief oil fields is tributary to Lewistown. 

Havre (5429) is the largest city on the main line 
of the Great Northern Railroad. It has the ad¬ 
vantage of being near newly developed oil fields. It 
has natural gas wells. 

Kalispell (5147) is the center of agricultural, 
horticultural, grazing, and lumbering interests of 
Flathead County. 

Red Lodge (4515) is the center of the coal-mining 
industry of Carbon County. 

Glendive (3816) has division railroad shops and 
is a shipping point for wheat, oats, and barley raised 
on the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project. Glen¬ 
dive is supplied with natural gas. 

Deer Lodge (3780) has railroad shops. It is the 
trading center of an agricultural and grazing region. 
The State Prison is located here. 

Whiteeisii (2867) is a tourist center and a rail¬ 
road division point. 

Dillon (2701) is the center of a sheep and cattle 
region, and seat of the State Normal College. 







APPENDIX 1 


AREA AND POPULATION OF COUNTIES 

(According to United States Census of 1920. Items marked * are official estimates in cases of new counties or change 

of boundaries) 


County 

Land 
Area in 
Square 
Miles 

Popu¬ 

lation 

County Seat 

Altitude 
of County 
Seat 

County 

Land 
Area in 
Square 
Miles 

Popu¬ 

lation 

County Seat 

Altitude 
of County 
Seat 

Beaverhead . 

5,657 

7,369 

Dillon 

5,098 

Mineral . . 

1,230 

2,327 

Superior 

2,720 

Big Horn . . 

4,966 

7 ,oi 5 

Hardin 

2,966 

Missoula . . 

3,173 

24,041 

Missoula 

3,223 

Blaine . . . 

Broadwater . 

4,229 

1,206 

9,057 

3,239 

Chinook 

Townsend 

2,407 

3 , 8 i 3 

Musselshell . 

2,903 

12,030 

* 8,330 

Roundup 

3,184 

Carbon . . 

2,060 

15,279 

Red Lodge 

5,537 

Park . . . 

2,661 

n ,330 

Livingston 

4,491 

Carter . . . 

3,375 

3,972 

Ekalaka 

3,000 est. 

Phillips . . 

5,178 

9 , 3 H 

Malta 

2,248 

Cascade . . 

3 , 4 H 

38,836 

* 37 ,H 5 

Great Falls 

3,330 

Pondera . . 

Powder River 

1,658 

3,337 

5,741 

3,357 

Conrad 

Broadus 

3,501 

3,050 est. 

Chouteau . . 

4,213 

11,051 

Fort Benton 

2,565 

Powell . . . 

2,329 

6,909 

Deer Lodge 

4 , 5 i 9 

Custer . . . 

3 , 74 i 

12,194 

Miles City 

,2,371 

Prairie . . . 

1,742 

3,684 

Terry 

2,250 

*Daniels . . 

*1,422 

* 5 , 48 o 

Scobey 

2,458 

Ravalli . . 

2 , 39 i 

10,098 

Hamilton 

3 , 57 i 

Dawson . . 

2,359 

9,239 

Glendive 

2,071 

Richland . . 

*2,103 

8,989 

Sidney 

1,978 

Deer Lodge . 

745 

15,323 

Anaconda 

5,288 

Roosevelt. . 

2,353 

io,347 

Wolf Point 

1,922 

Fallon . . . 

1,608 

4,548 

Baker 

2,936 

Rosebud . . 

4,993 

8,002 

Forsyth 

2 , 5 i 5 

*Fergus. . . 

7,178 

*6,026 

28,344 

*25,808 

Lewistown 

3,960 

Sanders . . 

2,861 

4,903 

Thompson 

Falls 

2,462 

Flathead . . 

Gallatin . . 

6,109 

2,507 

21,705 

15,864 

Kalispell 

Bozeman 

2,946 

4 , 77 i 

Sheridan . . 

2,686 

*i,758 

13,847 

* 9,376 

Plentywood 

2,046 

Garfield . . 

4,837 

5,368 

Jordan 

2,800 est. 

Silver Bow . 

726 

60,313 

Butte 

5,767 

Glacier . . 

2,981 

4,178 

Cut Bank 

3,698 

Stillwater 

i ,777 

7,630 

Columbus 

3,698 

*Golden Valley 
Granite . . 

*i,i 75 

i, 7 i 7 

* 4,276 

4,167 

Ryegate 

Philipsburg 

3,638 

5 ,i 75 

Sweet Grass . 

1,969 

*i ,932 

4,926 

* 4,452 

Big Timber 

4,072 

Hill .... 

2,884 

13,958 

Havre 

2,480 

Teton . . . 

2,044 

5,870 

Choteau 

3,810 

Jefferson . . 

1,632 

5,203 

Boulder 

4 , 9 i 9 

Toole . . . 

i,958 

3 V , 7 24 

Shelby 

3,286 

*Judith Basin . 

*1,894 

*4,283 

Stanford 

4,270 

Treasure . . 

960 

1,990 

Hysham 

2,667 

Lewis & Clark 
Liberty . . 

3,447 

U 45 1 

18,660 

2,416 

Helena 

Chester 

4 ,i 57 

3 ,i 32 

Valley . . . 

5,447 

*5,064 

n ,542 

*io ,533 

Glasgow 

2,093 

Lincoln . . 

3,624 

7,797 

Libby 

2,053 

Wheatland . 

1,411 

5 , 6 i 9 

Harlowton 

4,163 

McCone . . 

2,645 

4,747 

Circle 

2,800 est. 

Wibaux . . 

883 

3, IT 3 

Wibaux 

2,635 

Madison . . 

Meagher . . 

3,622 

2,369 

7,495 

2,622 

Virginia City 
White Sul¬ 
phur Springs 

5,822 

5 ,ooo 

Yellowstone . 

2,611 

29,600 

Billings 

3 ,n 7 


1 Up-to-date information regarding Montana’s resources, valuable in bringing statistics up to date each year, may be found 
in the annual number of the publication “Montana,” issued by the Montana State Department of Agriculture. 


3i 








































THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


32 


POPULATION OF MONTANA CITIES HAVING MORE THAN 2500 INHABITANTS 

(United States Census of 1920) 


City 

Butte . . 
Great Falls 
Billings 
Missoula 
Helena . . 


Population 
41,611 
. 24,121 

15,100 
. 12,668 

• 12,037 


City 

Anaconda . 
Miles City 
Livingston 
Bozeman . 


Population 

11,668 

• 7,937 

• 6,311 

• 6,183 


City 

Lewistown 
Havre . . 

Kalispell . 
Red Lodge 


Population 

6,120 

• 5,429 

• 5,147 

• 4,515 


City 

Glendive . 
Deer Lodge 
Whitefish . 
Dillon . . 


Population 
. 3,816 

• 3,78o 

. 2,867 

2,701 


POPULATION OF INCORPORATED PLACES WITH LESS THAN 2500 INHABITANTS 

(United States Census of 1920) 


City 



Population 

Antelope . 




285 

Bainville . 




396 

Baker . . 




1,067 

Bear Creek 




744 

Belgrade . 




499 

Belt . . . 




967 

Big Sandy . 




589 

Big Timber 




1,282 

Boulder 




682 

Bridger . . 




679 

Broadview 




191 

Browning . 




986 

Cascade 




465 

Chester 




402 

Chinook . 




1,217 

Choteau 




1,043 

Clyde Park 




352 

Columbia Falls 



611 

Columbus . 




987 

Conrad 




988 

Culbertson 




547 

Cutbank . 

. 



1,181 

Darby . . 




325 


City 

Denton . . . 


Population 

431 

Dodson . . 



365 

Ekalaka . . 



433 

Eureka . . . 



1,082 

Fairview . . 



513 

Forsyth . . 



1,838 

Fort Benton . 



1,065 

Froid . . 



410 

Fromberg . . 



520 

Geraldine . . 



354 

Geyser . . . 



230 

Glasgow . . 



2,059 

Grass Range . 



262 

Hamilton . . 



1,700 

Hardin . . . 



1,312 

Harlem . . . 



721 

Harlowton 



1,856 

Hingham . . 



154 

Hysham . . 



360 

Ismay . . . 



344 

Joliet . . . 



440 

Judith Gap . 



522 


City 


Population 

Lambert . . 



287 

Laurel . . . 



2,239 

Dibby . . . 



1,522 

Lima . . 



476 

Malta . . . 



1,427 

Manhattan 



S 9 i 

Medicine Lake 



292 

Melstone . . 



477 

Moore . . . 



355 

Nashua . . 



272 

Neihart . . 



749 

Outlook . . 



295 

Philipsburg 



1,724 

Plains . . . 



452 

Plentywood . 



888 

Plevna . . . 



241 

Poison . . . 



1,132 

Pony . . . 



242 

Poplar . . . 



1,152 

Ronan . . . 



600 

Roundup . . 



2,434 

Ryegate . . 



405 

Saco .... 



425 


City 

Population 

Scobey . . . . 


1,170 

Shelby . . . . 


537 

Sheridan . . . 


538 

Sidney . . . . 


1,400 

Stanford . . . 


3 °o 

Stevensville . . 


744 

Terry . . . . 


794 

Thompson Falls . 


508 

Three Forks . . 


1,071 

Townsend . . . 


897 

Troy . . . . 


763 

Twin Bridges . 


755 

Valier . . . . 


613 

Virginia City . . 


342 

Walkerville . . 


2,391 

Westby . . . 


253 

White Sulphur Springs 

574 

Whitehall . . . 


629 

Wibaux . . 


611 

Winifred . . . 


262 

Winnett . . . 


316 

Wolf Point . . 


2,098 































THE GEOGRAPHY OF MONTANA 


33 


MONTANA FARM CROPS, 1921, 1922 
(From United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Economics) 


Crop 

Year 

Acres 

Bushels 
per Acre 

Average Price 
per Bushel 

Total Value 

Winter wheat. 

1921 

425,000 

14 

.85 

$5,058,000 

Winter wheat. 

1922 

386,000 

16.5 

.89 

5,668,000 

Spring wheat. 

1921 

2,290,000 

12 

.85 

23,358,000 

Spring wheat. 

1922 

2,313,000 

14.7 

.89 

30,261,000 

Oats. 

1921 

618,000 

24 

•34 

5,043,000 

Oats. 

1922 

600,000 

3 ? 

•37 

7,104,000 

Corn. 

1921 

190,000 

20 

.67 

2,546,000 

Corn .. 

1922 

219,000 

25 

•53 

2,902,000 

Flax . 

1921 

110,000 

5 

1.40 

770,000 

Flax.. 

1922 

127,000 

7 

1.97 

1,751,000 

Barley. 

1921 

75 , 000 

20.5 

.60 

923,000 

Barley. 

1922 

77,000 

25 

•50 

962,000 

Rye. 

1921 

116,000 

11.2 

•53 

688,000 

Rye. 

1922 

126,000 

14-5 

•54 

987,000 

Potatoes. 

1921 

41,000 

115 

.80 

3,772,000 

Potatoes . 

1922 

46,000 

126 

.40 

2,318,000 

Apples. 

1921 



1.50 

1,465,000 




Apples. 

1922 



1.00 

610,000 




















































' 


















* 4 























































